TENSION and confusion are mounting in Livingstone where President Michael Sata’s preferred candidate Clement Andeleki, the former Registrar of Societies has been rejected by officials.

PF officials told the Daily Nation that attempts to impose Andeleki over their preferred candidate Captain John Mwamulima were facing stiff resistance because they did not expect Andeleki because of his bad name in society.

“We have told them even Ba General Secretary is aware about that. We informed him that his preferred candidate Clement Andeleki cannot win PF the election because he’s been messed up. His standing in society is questionable. This man Andeleki has had bad publicity for his activities and that will haunt the party if we selected him and for Madam Kristafor, the people don’t want the same family to run the affairs of the nation. In short they don’t want same people. She has been there and it is enough,” the official said.

Andeleki was arrested together with President Sata and Vice president Guy Scott while in the opposition for defaming the late President Levy Mwanawasa.

Andeleki who has run a campaign against Christian churches is expected to become Minister of Home Affairs.

The officials complained that forcing candidates on the electorates would split the party, adding that the opposition would emerge victorious because Andleki cannot win the PF an election.

“We have informed them to allow lower organs to make the selection, they just have to allow us make those recommendations and they pick a candidate out of popularity and not patronage. The way some people want these elections or adoptions handled is out of patronage. They want to use their friendship in the colonial times in UNIP and MMD to bring in their relatives. No one will campaign for their preferred candidate,” they said.

The official said that the party officials had demanded to know why and how Mr. Munkombwe was joining the party using a backdoor formula, adding that his presence in the by-election would negatively affect the elections outcome in the district.

Mr. Munkombwe has been accused of being behind the confusion in the selection of candidates as he was using some senior PF officials at district and constituency levels to push for his niece Gladys Kristafor.

The officials said that Mr. Munkombwe had a hidden agenda as he wanted to push for the candidature of his niece Gladys Kristafor who is also former provincial permanent secretary during the MMD administration.

PF officials in Livingstone briefed the Daily Nation that cracks had emerged after three names were shortlisted and recommended for adoption to the party’s provincial executive committee last week with Mr. Munkombwe’s niece part of the list.

PF Livingstone and District executive committee members said that the move had created divisions and camps especially among party top officials who feel that Mr. Munkombwe’s niece was not a PF member.

“The problem the party is facing is the names of the people they shortlisted actually the only preferred candidate is Mr. Mwamulima. That man has been there for the party and has the capacity not this Gladys Kristafor they wanted to push through because of her money. Mind you this person was once under investigations by government over abuse of office and mismanagement of public funds.”

The officials complained that the situation was being made worse by the failure by the party leadership to allow for the teams on the ground to select a popular candidate rather than going for patronage.

People here are fed up with old Daniel Munkombwe’s tricks who is part of the team behind all this but we can tell you that she has no influence on any one of the people here because of the way she conducted herself during the MMD regime,” the official said.